HEALTH PROMOTING SCHOOLS NATIONAL CONFERENCE 14-16 SEPTEMBER 2006 University of the Western Cape...

HEALTH PROMOTING SCHOOLS

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

14-16 SEPTEMBER 2006

University of the Western Cape Cape Town

HEALTH PROMOTING SCHOOLS

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

14-16 SEPTEMBER 2006

University of the Western Cape Cape Town

Potchefstroom CampusPotchefstroom Campus

YUNIBESITI YA BOKONE-BOPHIRIMA NORTH-WEST UNIVERSITY NOORDWES-UNIVERSITEIT


Health Promoting Schools

Acknowledgements

• The many students, teachers, principals, parents, community leaders, people from the private sector and departments of education

• Dr. Tiaan Kirsten – Faculty of Education Sciences North West University

• Prof. Bo JA Haglund and his team – Karolinska Institute Stockholm



South Africa: a few snapshots

• SA faces many challenges of development• Reconstructing education to a system that brings

equity to the education of all children is one of the most urgent

• The children are the future, and must be prepared to meet the demands of that future. The challenge cannot wait: it must be faced now.

• The main problems in SAfrica's education system related to the troubled past, and in particularly to the policy of Apartheid and its consequences



• What is needed to be understood is the nature of the educational challenges which face South Africa now, at this juncture in its history.

• Years of oppressive rule under the Apartheid system were laid to rest in 1994 when the nation elected its first multi-racial and democratic government.

• From holistic-societal point of view recent indicators give an insight into the challenges to be grappled with in education in South Africa.

• Crime, violence, and a variety of psychosocial problems continue to grow as the promise of a new life for many is too slowly to be realised.



• Unemployment and low incomes are the after-effects of years of anti-apartheid international sanctions. And conflicts abound as both blacks and whites attempt to redefine their roles in the new society.

• Currently, more than half of South Africa's population is under the age of 20.

• Various problems continue to frustrate the effective delivery of education. Education is being characterised as: inefficient, costly, unequal, and poor in quality; the training of teachers is inadequate



• there is a lack of basic materials; • communication between departmental officials and

teachers is poor to non-existent; • rationalisation and redeployment of teachers is

causing uncertainty and lack of motivation; • drop-outs and repetition of grades and subjects is

more the rule than the exception; • misappropriation of funds is widespread; • chronic absenteeism of teachers and pupils as well

as drunkenness while on duty cast a further dark cloud over the education sphere;



Health and nutrition: the National Food Consumption Survey (2000) survey eating patterns South African children between the ages of one and nine years old. One out of two children has an intake of less than half the recommended level of a number of important nutrients such as iron, zinc and vitamins A and C. These deficiencies cause: undernourished children to suffer from apathy, short attention span drop in learning ability due to iron deficiency; poor weight gain and growth retardation; poor cell functioning and structure due to zinc deficiency, poor growth, poor digestion, low mental alertness and poor resistance to infection because of a lack in vitamins.



Research amongst role players suggests various issues:

Education Department• Dysfunctional schools• Absenteeism of educators• Mismanagement• Lack of ethicsSchools and teachers• Demands from education department• OBE• School organisation• Multicultural environments



Schools and teachers• Parents/families• Attitudes of learners• Discipline• Societal/community demands• Physical ailments in educators and learnersLearners• Lack of learner support• Disregard for human dignity• Lack career orientation & life orientation• Observe stress in teachers• Teaching & learning not realised optimally



Parents• Dysfunctional teaching• Abuse of learners• Perceive school as primary educator• Schools should be safe – routes to schools• Social ills – violence, drug abuse, etc.• Inefficient parenting roles/skills• Absent parents



ORIGIN OF TOXIC CULTURE/SCHOOLS

Negative views of their work, their abilities, their studentsNo leadership to help staff to overcome adversity, avoid

negative rationalizations, no closure to conflictDrift towards negativity slow, gradual, new shared

viewing of the school counterproductivePockets of negativity influence whole schoolKeepers of negativity and cynicism (rumourmongers,

hostile storytellers, antiheroines and antiheroes, harmful exemplars)

Use complaints to gain power and attention



CHANGING A TOXIC CULTURE

Schools with a negative, or toxic, culture • lack a clear sense of purpose • have norms that reinforce inertia • blame students for lack of progress• discourage collaboration• often have actively hostile relations among staff

In fighting such a negative culture, the staff must assess the underlying norms and values of the culture and then as a group activity, work to change them to have a more positive, supportive culture.



TOXIC SCHOOLS HEALTHY SCHOOLS

Lack shared purpose shared purposeAggression in workplace commitment team spiritUnhealthy healthyBullying care for each otherUnproductive productiveDegenerative growthFragmented cohesionNot serving needs of all all stakeholders importantNegative values collegiality, performanceDisgruntled staff professional community



Hopelessness shared sense responsibility

Attacking new ideas network positive communicationAlways criticizing rituals/ceremonies that

reinforce core valuesSchool is battleground/war interpersonal

connectionOppositional groups shared sense

respect and careSpreading frustration for everyoneNegative conversations stories that celebrate Stories of failure told successesAnimosity against principal professional

relationship



Poverty

A combination of a lack of human assets (health, skills, education, knowledge, etc.) and physical assets (housing, land, food, water, etc.) and presence of other aspects (risk, vulnerability, insecurity, social exclusion, loss of dignity, deprivation, lack of choice, powerlessness).



Health

Health is not about the absence of disease, but rather as the process by which individuals, families, communities and societies maintain their sense of coherence (i.e. the sense that life is comprehensible, manageable and meaningful) and the ability to function in the face of changes in themselves and in their relationships with their environment.



Innovation in the school

Key questions to be answered …

Doing something I/we know about more often?Doing something I/we know about better?Doing something somewhat different?Doing something altogether different?




Conceptualisation and definition

• The ability to deliver new value to the customer (a new way of doing things or a new way to create customer satisfaction)

• Innovation utilises creative acts that must result in quantifiable gain

• Extending the utilisation of a product or process• Any idea, practice, or material artifact perceived to be new by

the relevant unit of adoption• No innovation as long as the present course of action is

considered to be satisfactory. Discrepancy between satisfactory and actual performance urges the need for alternatives



or …Innovation is process, involving multiple

activities, performed by multiple actors from one or several organisations, during which new combinations of means and/or ends, which are new for a creating and/or adopting unit, are developed and/or produced and/or implemented and/or transferred to old/or new partners (adapted from Gemuenden, 2004)




• The more open and willing an organisation is to accept and even seek out new ideas from its external environment, the more innovative it is (Zaltman & Wallendoff, 1979).

• The tendency for large organisations to adopt more innovations has been attributed to critical mass (eg. the number of people convinced about the innovation; number of people engaged in the innovation; the amount of positive energy generated at the point of entry of the innovation; the amount of success generated after the point of entry of the innovation (success stories)



Critical success factors of innovation

• Team/individual discensusConflict properly managed is a positive force in innovative thinking

• Team/individual creativityGeneration of ideas and new improved ways of doing things

• Team/individual commitmentWillingness to transform intellectual in-puts into out-puts. It is about doing new things



What is meant by health?

Popular and general meaning of health

New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998: 864): “…the state of being free from illness or injury…” A person being “restored” to health would then mean a person whom was ill or who had an injury, but is now free from such problems.

This general meaning of health as a concept is loaded with the connotations and denotations of health as only being about the physical body, curative and very medicalised – in fact a very bio-medical approach



World Health Organisation Definition

The World Health Organisation (WHO, 1948, 1999) defines health as:“A state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.

Probably the most often cited definition of healthDefinition recognizes social wellbeing and therefore the links

between individuals and their social world.

Important for the role it has played in highlighting that health is much more than the absence of disease, and that it is much more than a physical state (Wass, 2000: 47)



Ryff & Singer’s (1998:1) conclusion

• It also seems that in traditional everyday use, and because of the longstanding emphasis in human health on illness, and

• also because science has until now relegated health to the biological sciences,

• the state of the art conceptualization of health is that it is primarily concerned with the body.



Wellness informed holistic definition of health (Kirsten & Viljoen, 2004)

Optimal states of the domains of well-being in which an individual as a biopsychospiritual being, is physically, psychologically and spiritually integrated, interrelated and in harmony with the total living, non-living and symbolic environment, conducive to living a life of quality and actualising his/her potential in all the contexts of human existence, based on sustainability and for the common good.


Indicators for Health Promoting Schools

Indicators of the HPS 1. The health promoting school – a choice to be

made2. Policies and practice3. Formal curriculum4. Environment5. Social environment6. School, home, community links –

partnerships7. Community and health agencies



1. The health promoting school – a choice to be made

Evidence

Staff members aware of HPS conceptHPS framework is used in schoolHPS promoted in school communityHPS supported by school policiesHPS concept supported by school leadership



2. Policies and practice

Evidence

• HPS plan/framework agreed upon for all to see• Promotion discussion school policies• Clear policies and procedures – needs students

(mental, health, welfare, safety, risk management local issues, environmental sustainable)

• Teachers informed trained to meet responsibilities – needs learners

• Teachers encouraged to promote sense of community well-being



2. Policies and practice (cont.)

Evidence

• School undertake health promoting activities• Trained and active health worker – nurse,

occupational therapist, etc.



3. Formal curriculum

Evidence• Curriculum based on holistic model of health• Teachers convinced the content/delivery support

school’s health and well-being• Staff have access to professional development

for curriculum development• Teachers seek student input and feedback in

relation to teaching, assessment and content• Teachers encouraged and supported to design

effective learning experiences for all students



3. Formal curriculum (cont.)

Evidence• Teachers want student participation in learning

and use methodologies that consider student needs and learning styles

• Processes in place that students do not slip through

• Teachers have high achievable expectations of learners

• Learners have meaningful opportunities to participate and contribute



3. Formal curriculum (cont.)

Evidence

• Curriculum informed by current health issues of learners in community

• School informed by parents, learners and teachers in terms of health issues



4. School environment

Evidence• Welcoming safe for learners, staff, all visitors• Protection from rain, sun, etc.• Classrooms ventilated and well-lit• Safe and adequate play areas• Hygienic & adequate toilet facilities, soap, hand-

drying facilities, ample sanitary disposal



4. School environment (cont.)

Evidence• Access to hygienic water• Appropriate and secure places to store

belongings• Appropriate areas for sick learners• Regular safety audits of grounds, classrooms,

with parent, learner and staff representatives



5. Social environment/ethosEvidence• School and community share values• Ownership and pride promoted amongst learners

and staff• Community experience school as welcoming

place• School/classroom atmosphere warm, open and

mutual respect• Learners/staff feel comfortable and safe • Staff members model caring relations• Variety of structured student forums where

issues can be raised



5. Social environment

Evidence• Variety of structured staff forums where issues

can be raised• Encourage, value and recognise achievement by

learners and staff• Teachers aware of roles as “significant people”

that learners can approach for help and guidance



6. School, home, community links – partnerships

Evidence• Established varied communication strategies

with parents/caregivers in regard to policies and practice

• Clear communication to parents/caregivers on the ways they can support learner’s school-based learning

• Sharing of physical resources with community



6. School, home, community links – partnerships (cont.)

Evidence• Use local media to communicate school activities

and events to wider community• Use the expertise of community agencies, groups

and individuals in complementing the curriculum



7. Community and health agenciesEvidence• Linking with local health and other local

community agencies• Teacher/counselor have latest information on

health and related services (type provided, referral procedures, waiting lists, charges, etc.)

• Training opportunities for staff on health-related issues available by local health and community agencies

• Local health and community agencies help and support curriculum delivery (sex education, STD’S, HIV Aids, etc.)



Thank you for your attention!

HEALTH PROMOTING SCHOOLS NATIONAL CONFERENCE 14-16 SEPTEMBER 2006 University of the Western Cape...

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